In Rwanda’s far east, on the border with Tanzania, lies Kirehe District. Here, erratic rainfall and soil erosion have left once-productive fields vulnerable to droughts and floods. For the more than 37,000 people who live here, most of them dependent on farming, survival is becoming ever more precarious.
Until recently, the solutions that could make farming viable again, such as solar irrigation, cleaner cookstoves, and agroforestry, were out of reach. The technologies existed, but the cost was prohibitive, and financial institutions were not geared towards offering climate-friendly loans.
That began to change with the launch of the Transforming Eastern Province through Adaptation (TREPA) project, a six-year programme funded by the Green Climate Fund and led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with partners including Cordaid, the Rwanda Forestry Authority, World Vision and CIFOR-ICRAF.
A New Direction for Finance
At the heart of this shift is Imirasire Y’Iterambere SACCO Kigarama, a community savings and credit cooperative founded in 2009. With more than 11,000 members, it has long been a lifeline for local farmers and traders.
But until recently, its loans were conventional; designed to help people recover from setbacks, not prepare for the climate shocks ahead. With training and technical support through TREPA, SACCO staff began to rethink their approach.
‘This loan wasn’t simply credit. It was a catalyst for comfort, health, and savings.’
‘Cordaid and TREPA did more than provide training,’ says manager Alloys. ‘They helped us realise that climate finance is not a niche; it is the future of microfinance in Rwanda. That future is already here. In smoke-free kitchens, in trees that hold our soil, and in solar pumps that water our fields during the dry season.’
Workshops guided the cooperative’s staff through everything from feasibility studies to piloting new products. The result was three flagship loans tailored to climate resilience:
- Cana Rumwe Loan – financing for improved cookstoves that cut firewood use, reduce fuel costs and lower emissions.
- Rengera Ibidukikije Loan – credit for nursery beds and agroforestry systems to restore soil fertility and increase yields.
- Hinga Weze Loan – loans for solar-powered irrigation systems, replacing diesel pumps and enabling year-round cultivation.
Change at the Household Level
For farmer Athanase Rusigajiki, one of the first to take out a Cana Rumwe loan, the impact was immediate. ‘Within the first month, our firewood use dropped by half,’ he says. ‘We even began using maize cobs from our harvest to replace nearly a third of the wood we once consumed.’
The savings were welcome, but the social and health benefits proved even more significant. Athanase’s wife and children no longer spend hours gathering wood, freeing up time for school and other activities. Indoors, the smoke that once caused persistent coughs and eye irritation has disappeared.
‘This loan wasn’t simply credit,’ he reflects. ‘It was a catalyst for comfort, health, and savings. It showed us that a small, well-structured loan can transform a household and protect the environment too.’
Scaling Up
The pilot phase was promising: in just two months, 35 members had taken the stove loans, with a repayment rate of 92%. The strong uptake has drawn attention from government agencies keen to align with Rwanda’s national climate resilience goals, which aim to make the country an upper-middle-income nation by 2035 and a high-income one by 2050.
For Imirasire SACCO, the change has been profound. Climate finance is now part of its core strategy, with staff trained to design products that combine financial inclusion with environmental sustainability. They are also tracking tangible outcomes, such as the amount of firewood saved, carbon emissions avoided, and yields increased.
By 2026, the SACCO aims to reach 14,000 members with its green financial products, supported by awareness campaigns, after-sales services and closer collaboration with government and technical partners.
Restoring Landscapes, Building Resilience
TREPA’s ambitions extend far beyond Kirehe. Running from 2021 to 2027, the project aims to restore 60,000 hectares of degraded land across Rwanda’s Eastern Province. By promoting agroforestry, improved land management and climate-resilient value chains, it seeks to strengthen community resilience at scale.
For farmers like Athanase, however, the impact is already visible in their daily lives. In kitchens free of smoke, in fields watered through solar pumps, and in trees taking root in eroded soils.